Women deserve better

Photo courtesy of The Viewspaper.

By Scott Billeck

Man, we’ve fucked up. Women deserve better.

I don’t pretend to know all the facts about Jian Ghomeshi or the self-inflicted mess he finds himself in.

What I do know is that close to a dozen women (perhaps more) were too afraid to show their faces and stand up for who they are and what happened to them.

I do know these women, and the countless others who remain anonymous and in hiding, deserve better.

We didn’t believe them in the first place. A well-choreographed Facebook post gave us all the information we needed to know. Some “jilted” women, who didn’t know when to say “Uncle,” wronged an upstanding “soldier” of this country.

The CBC unfairly fired this warrior for Canada, he told us. He loved kinky sex, he admitted. Everything was consensual, according to him. And we ate it up. Those women knew what they were getting themselves into, we concluded. They wanted to be choked and slapped and, well, raped.

Sexual abuse is a fickle thing in society. We promote “rape culture,” sometimes we know it, sometimes we don’t. We stand behind Ray Rice, we forgive Mike Tyson. It’s gotten that bad. And then we’re “shocked” when something like this happens. There is no way such a prominent, “nice” guy could do this. These “bitches” must be lying. They want to make a quick buck.

I can only surmise the disappointment these women feel.

It’s a subject no one wants to talk about. Not even the victims. We’ve fostered a state that is too terrifying for the people who need help the most. In that, we have effectively protected the perpetrators.

We have learned not to care. How long has Ghomeshi gotten away with this? How many ruined lives? How many remain at-large?

We have spent so much time telling these women they’re wrong, that they’re liars or just looking for a payout. We label them as sluts and whores. We tell them they deserved it, that they welcome it. By the way they dressed, the “glances” they gave. The words they spoke. They seek justice and are told they didn’t do enough to stop it.

And then we wonder why they stay in captivity for so long.

I’d be lying if I said that I had some sort of solution. I don’t pretend to know the way out of this.

The plight of a woman in the world will never be fully understood by any man. What remains to be seen is if men can stop the bleeding.

Women deserve better and we’ve failed them. Badly.

Too Busy To Care

By Scott Billeck

Last week my post was some pictures from an election assignment I took part in for my first year journalism class. I certainly didn’t have the time to flesh out a post about mental health issues and I don’t think I had any to worry about at the time.

The fact is, however, the busier I get, the less and less I spend on time maintaining myself in a healthy way, mentally.

This past week has been perhaps the most insane in my professional life. Since Friday, I have covered three Winnipeg Jets games, a Winnipeg Blue Bombers game, covered the Winnipeg mayoral election for Canstar Community News and also did my normal week’s worth of freelancing for them on top of it.

I haven’t stopped this week, for anything or anyone.

My weekend ahead looks like two Jets games and a Bombers game, as well as some other freelancing work I have picked up on the side. Oh, and I am also writing for the Denver Post on Sunday.

I’m exhausted. If you didn’t know me, and many of you may not, I also have a full-time school schedule on top of all of this.

It’s a hell of a work load, but one I thrive in. I’m proud of my ability to get a lot done in a short time frame, I feel it will help me as I go from here at a Red River College and into the professional landscape.

The truth is I need to slow down. I put all of me into my professional, public work. I do, however, find that I am struggling to do so in school. I only know this because one of my teachers pulled me aside this week and asked what is up.

When we are busy, we often fail to think of ourselves and how we are feeling and doing in life. This week was, as it has been in the past, a bit of a wakeup call in that regard.

I’m in school to become a better writer, to further my opportunities in this industry. I should be taking it seriously, and, after a little nudge, will do so going forward.

Take some time for yourself this weekend. It’s worth the time it takes.

Youth Vital Signs Mayoral Forum

By Scott Billeck – @scottbilleck

Here are a few of my pictures of tonight’s Youth Vital Signs Mayoral Forum at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.